What's In A Pet Name?
by Tsuki-no-oni
Summary: Kagome reflects on her pet name for Inuyasha and looks at their relationship. Fluff. but R&R anyway, one-shot.


So I'm here...with a little one-shot. It's Kag's POV, not necessarily coming off any of my other fics. Just sorta short and sweet.

* * *

I hate school. I really do.

It makes my Tough Puppy so mad. He gets so...

...I wonder why I call him that.

It wasn't like it was a conscious decision.

It was one of those spur-of-the-moment nicknames that don't make any sense at all, but seem to click the minute they're uttered. And no one will ever know exactly why that particular combination of syllables was chosen, but it's there nonetheless.

...I'm getting reflective. Damn my English teacher...

Then again, ANYthing is better than sitting here and waiting for Inuyasha to come and get me.

I wouldn't be here in the first place if it weren't for him, of course. He runs off to visit Kikyo and expects me just to hang out, wait around for him to come back...

...like hell!

_(I sound more and more like him every day too...must resist temptation to bang head against wall. At least I haven't taken up his 'feh' vocabulary yet.)_

So anyway, off he goes with Kikyo. Perfect opportunity for ME to visit Kouga, drop by the Bone Eater's Well, and indulge in a small date with Hojo.

Of course, being in such close proximity with two males which are neither hanyou, nor do their names start with 'Inu-' or end with '-yasha', causes me to pick up some rather intriguing scents. Scents like...males that don't frequently insult me to the point of crying.

So what happens? The norm.

"I can't leave for two days without you running off with every male you set eyes on?! Who's next, my half-brother?"

Insert heavy rolling of the eyes here. How anyone could find romantic intrigue with emotions-of-a-rock-Sesshoumaru is beyond me, but Inuyasha obviously has evidence of his softer side or is too insane with jealousy to care.

...Why jealousy? Because what else is it? Why else would he be upset that I smell like...male? Male that doesn't carry a sword and fight with his claws? Male that is distinctly...

...not Inuyasha.

But it doesn't matter what I think about Kikyo. Oh no. It's what he thinks that matters.

And so there you have 'Tough'.

...but as I sob, his stony face softens to a genuine sort of panicked care, and he goes to any lengths to make the flow of salt-scented emotion end. Maybe his anti-tears campaign has something to do with that scent-overload problem of his.

I should verify that and exploit it the next time I have a test to study for.

Whoever said the female mind wasn't a diabolical place?

Back to my ramblings, my hanyou will go to any lengths to keep me from crying. He will not, however, do this for other women we run into. Sure, he rescues the occasional damsel in distress at my bidding, but he's virtually under my complete control otherwise.

With a well-placed sob and a few choked back tears, those ears are drooping and the amber eyes are filled with apology.

Tag on the 'Puppy'.

And though I occasionally throw in a 'my Little' just to irritate him, I really do mean all of it affectionately.

I really do hold affection for Inuyasha.

A lot of it.

Who would have ever guessed?

More rolling of the eyes...

But if I can invent cute pet names and even deal with dead girlfriends, why can't he get over a cup of hot chocolate at the mall or a friendly chat over a bag of potato chips?

It IS sort of flattering.

The whole jealousy thing, I mean.

But it's irritating at the same time.

So things will just continue on they way they have been forever now. When I'm feeling happy, I'll call him by his little pet name.

When I'm angry, his name is crudely chopped into a single syllable. I'll give you a hint—starts with 'S' and ends in 'it'.

Sigh, moan, moap, yawn. He's sure taking his time.

Maybe...maybe he isn't coming.

My eyes widen with the thought. Why wouldn't he be coming? He seemed pretty angry that I would insult him and Kikyo...though she HAS tried to kill me in the past, and that looses major brownie points for Inuyasha every time.

I wonder what would happen if we flat-out tried to kill each other. Would he stop us? Morbid fascination would probably keep him out of our way. Besides, after a little while her soul would come back to me anyway...

...I left over three hours ago.

Did something happen?

Are they fighting?

Are they hurt?

Is he dead?

These thoughts make me jump up and unlatch my window, scanning the shrine grounds for the familiar flash of red.

No such luxury.

My fluttering heart picks up a beat as the doors to the well house blow in the wind. We'll have a thunderstorm tonight. What if Inuyasha just leaves me here?

What if I never see my Tough Puppy again?

My eyes fill with tears.

"Useless wench, why are you still crying?"

I spin around at the voice.

That gruff, demanding, arrogant, wonderful voice.

I've only been happier a few other times in my life. Why the hell do I even bother to worry about him? Feh. He can take care of himself, obviously.

_(Hands over the mouth, eyes wide in shock. Oh my god, I said it. ...er, thought it. Feh! It's all the same. I'm officially as bad as my Puppy.)_

"You're not still mad?" I manage instead of complaining about his levels of corruption in my brain.

"It was my fault to begin with," he muttered. "Can't leave you for two minutes, always getting yourself into trouble."

Straightening up, he decided to do something sweet to redeem himself before I could 'Sit' him for his regular rudeness.

"These are for you,"

My jaw dropped.

Flowers.

When I was going to Sit him again.

Flowers.

I gathered them into my arms and suddenly launched myself at him, landing my mouth on his cheek. Inuyasha was sort of at a loss. I don't think any female has ever been so abruptly close to him before. I think I fried the nerves in his brain.

Smirking at my success with reducing my fierce protector to a mindless gaping boy, I gently placed the flowers on my desk. I then turned to find him with a hand on his face, still staring. Putting my hands on my hips and biting back a laugh, I said,

"You really are my Little Tough Puppy."

* * *

You loved the mindless fluff. O.O look into my eyes, they are lazer beams!

::foo-chee, foo-chee!::

anyway, review. Speak out. Kagome was a little bit more...wordy in this, I'll admit. Oh well, can't have everything. Review. I know you have a voice, somewhere. Use it.

Click that button. Yes, that one right under this. MOVE YOUR MOUSE AND REVIEW!!!

Click

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